Wednesday, June 20, 2007

My most fearsome nightmare..

I'm mummy n taking over Rossi's blog... as for now..

My most fearsome nightmare of all time when i bought Rossi home is actually coming to haunt me now.. I am scare ... I am disappointed.. I am heart broken.. I am worry.. I am sad... I am stupid... stupid for letting Rossi followed me to jungle trekking when he not suppose to be.. I blame myself for letting him climb the stairs when my heart kept saying no.. I am foolish for letting Rossi run through the shiny marble tiles floor over the house.. when i know what are the consequences like ... when i actually knew the risk of it... I am the one to blame.. not the breeder .. not everyone else... but me.. I want to say sorry to Rossi.. and am willing to do everything with all my might n love for him..

We actually just came back from a vet visit.. due to his diarrhea for past 3 days now.. that is not so serious cause i change his food and he just not use to it.. he actually can eat n play actively.. he always hungry.. and always hunger for ball chasing n ball retrieving...

Then doctor noticed the way he walk (which i've noticed it for past months ago.. but the sign is more visible now after the trekking) ... his hip swivel when walk.. n he has difficulty to wake up .. very slow.. then doctor examine his both hip n legs by extend his hind leg backward to check for pain... and and ... i wanna cry.. he did showed discomfort when doctor did the procedure for both his legs.. both his legs! Doc said he is in pain when he push Rossi's hind leg backward... that really hurts me!.. Now Doc said to come back for x-ray when he is 6 months old to confirm whether he really got Hip Dysplasia!! as doing x-ray now will not show the real sign of HD cause puppy joint will tense to ease a bit..

I will not give up... from now on.. no more jungle trekking.. no more climbing stairs.. but all walking exercise.. I will still maintain his daily walk around the housing area.. where he can enjoy the scenery n meeting new things... no more excessive running... i know there is nothing i can do to pay back for what i have done on him which causing him to be this way... i just really hope after 1 month from now when we visit the vet again.. the x-ray will show a normal hip of Rossi not only hip but a healthy dog.... and he can be normal again to do things he loves (of course not excessively) ... Let's hope and pray.. Rossi, i will pray with you .. let's not give up..


Rossi weight today : 17 kgs
Age : 5 months 1 day
Todate : 20/06/07 (Wednesday)

15 comments:

Amber-Mae said...

Oh NOOOOO!!! This is really bad news! This is the last thing I would even want to get in my life... My hips are bad too coz I took an x-ray when I was about 4mths old. I don't have hip dysplasia coz I have no pain when jumping up & down, running & going up the stairs BUT my left thigh ball is not fully in the socket coz socket too small. I have a very pronounce sway too & people always call me a model on the runway. Eeeheehee...

Oh speaking of x-rays, I think I better ask my hoomans to bring me for my next x-ray now coz I'm old enuf but definitely I don't have any hip dysplasia or else, I wouldn't be walking right now. Actually slow walks are good for you. My hips slightly improve a bit(I mean not the swaying but the strength of my hips) after many walks every day. Just a 10min walk is fine. Sometimes I get to run too lah but that's not very good(According to my hoomans)

There's nothing wrong with jungle trekking, it's good for you too & a bit of climbing will help you a bit too... Actually, if you take Glucosamine(a supplement for hip joints. You can ask in any vets, they will have it), it will help you to maintain your hips NOT improve your hips. But if it does get really worse & you can't walk anymore & you're experiencing excruciating pain, then you have no choice but to go for surgery. But there's only a 50-50 chance that you'll be able to walk again. So far, all the doggie friends I've met who have had hip problems & gone through surgery, they seem to be fine & can walk & run better after that!

But see first lah, wait for your next x-ray & if confirm you have hip dysplasia, your hoomans should know what to do... I'll pray for ya too Rossi.

Hugs & love licks especially for you,
Solid Gold Dancer

Goofy said...

Rossi!!! I crossed my paw and mom put together her hands and pray for you, our nice nice friend there!!!
Keep us update with your news, ok?

Love licks
Goofy

Boo Boo said...

Hi Rossi,

It's me Boo Boo :) I dont know much about hip dysplasia, but not to worry, I will get my brother who is a, Golden Retriever too, to come talk to you about it .....

Mean while, I like you. I think you are cute :)

Bond said...

Hi Rossi,

How are you today? I am Bond, Boo Boo's brother :)

No worries about Hip Dysplasia, I see that you are still a very young puppy. Take more glucosamine supplement which is good for your joints. You may also want to SWIM more. Swimming helps to exercise you, as you are a big breed, and need lots of exercise. And swimming is good for hip dysplasia according to research.

In the mean time, listen to your human, no slippery floorings, and no stairs.

You will be just fine !

Bond said...

Oh yes Rossi,

You got to watch your weight too. However, its a bit tricky here as you are a growing puppy. Just make sure you grow well and dont put on too much weight, else it will be bad for your hips

Anonymous said...

I made my way to your blog, sorry to hear such news. Would swimming therapy help?

Kien said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kien said...

Hi Boo boo/Bond/Pearly.. nice to see you guys in my blog..

Boo Boo.. thanks for getting me your bro Bond to talk to me..

Bond ... thanks for your advice, ooo.. i love swimming n playing water.. but where to find a place to swim?.. My uncle got swimming pool at home..but he said if i jump in, my mummy need to wash it for him.. pity mummy.. And yeah, doctor said i shouldn't get too heavy though.. cause am growing very fast.. so, need to maintain weight at least at 22-24kgs when am older..not more than that..

hi Pearly.. yeah swimming does actually help.. Doctor adviced me to swim more too.. Even Bond agreed with that!.. anyway, thanks Pearly for dropping by..

Urban Smoothie Read said...

i'm not sure whether jungle trekking will b okay 4 u or not...

better ask d vet...

but rossi condition was very apparent from d way he walk

Benji said...

Hi,
Don't be too sad or worried about the HD thingy (It used to be my parents worse nightmare too). I'm a diagnose with HD myself. What mummy did was giving me Glucosamine pills daily and it helps. I can still do everything like other friends can do i.e. run like crazy, play fisbees, agility, hike etc. but just do it in moderately, nice and easy after all we still need to build those muscles as to help ease the HD also. Swimming will be best and yes, we can't get too fat.

Bond said...

Hi rossi,

Its me again ...

I have a swimming pool here that I can swim in, alternatively, you can try the BEACH :)
YEAH .... BEAch BEACH BEACH

Kien said...

hi bond..

so nice.. but normally they dun allow pets in the the swimming pool.. unless you owned the swimming pool of course..

oh yes.. do you have any brand in mine if my mummy wants to buy Glucosamine pills for me? There r just too many brands out there..

thanks ya..

love love..
Golden Rossi

Sunshade said...

Dear Rossi's mummy... I know you are very sad right now, because my mummy was exactly like you. You see, I have elbow dysplasia in my right elbow from an agility fall (off the A-frame) when I was just 6 months old. Mum didn't know anything back then, she thought she was doing the best for me, and she put me in an agility class thinking I could burn off some puppy energy. Well the fall chipped a bone in my elbow which was still soft back then being a puppy. When I was fully matured, I was diagnosed with Fragmented Coronoid Process which is a type of elbow dysplasia caused by trauma. I was very lame, limped ALL THE TIME. And people thought I was 14 when I was just a little over 1. So yes, mum was VERY sad just like your mum and blamed herself non-stop. I know she still sometimes blames herself, but now we just focus on "managing" my elbow problem and not dwell on the past. I am 7.5 yrs old now, and I haven't limped in 5 years even tho my elbow joint looks ugly on the x-rays. I can still run and play like any normal dog. Mum lets me do things at my own pace, she doesn't make me jog, or chase balls. I only do fetch if it's in the water.

Another thing is, dogs carry 60% of their weight in their front end, so having hip dysplasia is a lot easier than having elbow dysplasia. On top of that, there are surgeries you can perform, be it FHO (femoral head osteotomy) or Total Hip Replacement to fix the bad hips. There are NO surgeries even today to "fix" elbow dysplasias, the most you can do is managing it. I know you are very worried, but there is still hope, a lot actually. There are dogs who have HD but never even needed surgeries and lived a normal health life. Yes you might need to do things differently to accommodate their needs, but still totally manageable.

I wrote a post about how we've been managing my elbow dysplasia and how musculoskeletal diseases can be managed. You can have a look here if you wish:

(http://sunshadethesuperdale.blogspot.com/2006/09/how-to-manage-arthritis-and-other.html)

Lastly, mum came across this article when she was researching about ED:

(http://www.workingdogs.com/doc0039.htm)

Your can try adding this to Rossi's diet since Vit-C is a water soluble vitamin so you don't have to worry about over dosing. Basically, just add a bit at a time and work your way up to bowel tolerance. Vit-C can soften stools or even cause diarrhea, but if you just work your way up to bowel tolerance and then back down a little bit, then that should be how much Vit-C his body needs.

Please don't be too upset, it is not your fault, and Rossi doesn't blame you for what happened (and we don't even know for sure if he has HD yet!) Rossi is YOUR boy, he loves YOU, because YOU love him the most, and he knows YOU would NEVER do anything intentionally to hurt him, and that's all it matters. It's the same with my mum, I know she still feels guilty at times, but she also knows I don't blame her one bit for what has happened to me, I'm just happy that I have MY mum to look after me with this condition. I wouldn't have it any other way, and I'm sure Rossi feels the same way too. Mommys all learn from their mistakes, and they all try to do the best to their knowledge at the time.

Are Rossi's parents tested hip/elbow dysplasia free?? I think it would be a good idea to let the breeder know and maybe ask for contacts of his littermates just to see if any of them have the same condition. This should be useful information to your breeder too to know what her bloodline produces.

My breeder has been breeding since the 60' and her lines has been clean of HD for a long long time, and she's NEVER had an ED (not common for my breed at all). I have 7 other littermates who are all elbow/hip dysplasia free, so mum knew for sure it was because of my agility incident especially it's only in one elbow. I live with my 7 months old nephew and niece who are out of my full brother, and both of them have been very healthy so far.

All the best, and don't hesitate if you think I can be of anymore help!

ps. I also posted a comment on Bond's most recent post.

Love nibbles,
Miss Sunshade

Kien said...

Hi Sunshade...

I can never thank you enough... my mummy feeling better now.. after all the best wishes.. advices.. from our lovely furry frens like you.. it just completed me..

Rossi mum: I will do my very best for Rossi.. for his comfort.. for his good health.. for his happiness... that's all am asking for my love one..

PreciOus said...

Oh Rossi's mum, don't worry too much ok? Rossi will get better as time goes by. *Hugz*

Snuggle,
Precious